The <i>Kṣāntivādi-jātaka’s</i> Fragment in the Serindia Collection of IOM, RAS

Abstract

The articles give an analysis of a fragment of the Sanskrit text from Kṣāntivādi-jātaka of the Jātakamālā (The Garland of Jātakas) by Āryaśūra housed at the Serindian Fund of the IOM, RAS (SI 2998/5). The article presents a paleographic review of the fragment, indicates the features of the proto-śāradā writing used in its text. A logical conclusion has been made that the examined fragment is part of a once single manuscript, divided into some pieces which are currently stored in various manuscript collections of the world, for example, at Berlin Ethnological Museum. Correspondences and differences between the Sanskrit version of the Jātaka and its Pāḷi version are being analyzed. It is noted that the idea of the aggregate of forms (matter) (rūpa-skandha) and information on the yogic technique of cutting off attachments are incorporated into the plot of the Kṣāntivādi-jātaka. These views are more clearly presented in the Pāḷi version of this text. The article contains a transliteration and translation of and commentary on the text of the fragment.